German diplomat to visit May 3

Gerhard Stoltenberg, a distinguished diplomat and Deputy Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, will visit campus Wednesday, May 3.

Stoltenberg plans to meet informally with students, faculty and staff and speak to the Rotary Club of Madison about major changes in Europe and relations between the U.S. and the European Union.

Stoltenberg will speak on “What Can America Expect From the New Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship?” at noon at the Inn on the Park, 22 S. Carroll St. At 3 p.m., Stoltenberg will hold an informal roundtable discussion with students, faculty and staff in the Study Pub, eighth floor, Fluno Center for Executive Education, 601 University Ave.

Few people are as qualified to talk about Europe and the post-Cold War period. Stoltenberg has been at the epicenter of power in German politics and European events for the past two decades.

Stoltenberg oversaw the German economy during most of the 1980’s as minister of finance (1982-1989). As minister of defense (1989-1992) in the Kohl administration, he was at the helm of the German military during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. And as a senior voice in transatlantic relations, his views on the course of US-European relations receive a close ear in Washington D.C., Berlin, and other European capitals.

Stoltenberg has served in key leadership roles in Germany at both state and national levels. He was a member of the Bundestag, the German Parliament, for almost 30 years, and has been active in the Christian Democratic Union for more than 50 years, playing a key role in shaping his party’s policies.

Stoltenberg studied history, social sciences and philosophy at the University of Kiel. He received his Ph.D. in 1954.

As deputy chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, a political foundation headquartered near Bonn, Germany, Stoltenberg meets with the foundation’s partners to promote the principles of the Christian-Democratic political movement espoused by Germany’s first chancellor of the post-World War II Federal Republic of Germany, the late Konrad Adenauer.

Two significant aspects of that legacy include support for European unification and a commitment to transatlantic partnership and friendship. The foundation’s partners include political parties, governments, education and research institutes, trade and environmental organizations.

During his trip to the United States, Stoltenberg will meet with key political figures, including Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Secretary of State James Baker.

Stoltenberg’s visit to Madison is sponsored by the Center for German and European Studies, the European Union Center and the European Studies Program of the UW–Madison.